The first and most important feature incorporated in our design is the mobility of the bed. We had two different options.
Option #1 - Make the bed fold-able and recline-able to be carried around in a bag-back. This would guarantee the safety of the bed, and enable it to be more mobile. The issue with this is the weight on the back. It is quite a task to carry something on your back for a whole day. To make someone carry a bed in a backpack all week, and all year is quite the challenge even when there's hardly a choice.
Below is a picture of a reclinable stretcher for the army. In this case though, the stretcher is very light, weighing in at about 11 pounds folding out to about 19.7 inches in height. "The EMSCompact Stretcher is the lightest most compact and flexible stretcher available in the EMS market today. When every second matters and rescue personnel have an increasingly heavy load to carry, you can count on the EMSCompact Stretcher to allow them to get on with the job of saving lives!"
Our bed will most probably be heavier than 11 pounds because it is not just a stretcher but a bed made of synthetic fiber/ thinsulate and will probably have some heavy metal parts in it.
Option #2: Make the bed disposable yet keeping it environmentally sustainable
This disposable cardboard bed was designed by designer Nikolay Suslov of the Saint Petersburg State Academy of Art And Design. This bed design is cheap as it utilizes cardboard, a few layers of corrugated cotton and finished with a waterproof substance. This disposable bed was actually design with homeless people in mind. The bed is durable through all seasons due to the waterproof finish and the bed is designed to be elivated 20 centimeters from ground level keeping the user a good distance from dirty, cold or wet ground. This low price disposable bed is completely recyclable, keeping in mind the environmental concerns of producing beds for the homeless.
This option is an excellent start in terms of cost, sustainability and its ease of becoming compact and portable, making it a very strong influence over our proposed design. However, when taking into consideration the Canadian winter we needed to manage how to incorporate the synthetic fiber/ thinsulate bedding and blanket.
Furthermore, there is also the issue of theft-proofing bed with the incorporation of some kind of lock.
Similar to the first design option, this concept design is a collapsible stretcher that can folded, carried around, removed and opened up anywhere to become a stretcher. Much like the first option, the backpack concept ensures safety of the bed to the rightful owner, however, also like the first option this design is more of a stretcher than a bed hence it neglects various needs of the homeless such as warmth and a greater sense of shelter.
Option #4 - Make the bed easily transportable to be dragged around on wheels. Below are Some design inspirations:
"Design enthusiast Paul Elkins develops mobile units, and other small scale vehicles. His latest development is a mobile homeless shelter which he designed as part of a competition asking individuals to meet the demands of the rapidly growing homeless society - a kind of substitute for the grocery cart situation"
"Elkins wanted his design construction to be a simple, light weight, water tight insulated box on wheels, built with an area for displaying and selling handmade wares"
"The shelter weighs 225 pounds when empty. The roof acts as a rain catcher. The shelter also includes a sleeping / resting area, a kitchen and makeshift washroom"
The above is just an example of an already proposed solution to help the homeless but this unit is quite different from what we are proposing. This is an 'independent housing unit' designed to be a mobile home with facilities for cooking, using the bathroom and even purifying water. We only want to design a bed for sleeping on that the homeless could possibly be involved in designing. It is a solution to create jobs for the unskilled but not the unstable.
We must also ask ourselves if such a unit would be realistic in terms of being an economically feasible project. While being greatly beneficial to any homeless person, a mass production, or so to speak, of such a unit may be beyond our budget. Furthermore, we aimed to create a design that can be assembled easily by the homeless as an effort to involve them in the construction process. This proposal may be beyond their interest.
Option #5: The Sleeping Bag Approach
The initial inspiration in terms of design, the sleeping bag, is also a valid option in terms of catering to the needs of the homeless. A good sleeping bag can provide the comfort and warmth needed to combat the harsher temperatures of Toronto's winters. Hence, what is needed is winter sleeping bag or at least a 3-season bag. Some essential factors behind staying warm include staying dry as wetness or moisture leads to the loss of body warmth, blocking wind as wind increases convective heat loss and multiple layers for trapping heat. These three components would suggest a sleeping bag that adequately keeps the user warm.
In designing a sleeping bag, there are various key components that contribute to warm sleeping bag. First of all the loft which refers the thickness of the bag is important in how warm the bag is. The thicker the bag, the warmer it will be. Secondly, the shape of the bag can often determine how warm and comfortable the bag is. For example, the "Mummy Bag" design aim for maximum heat retention by providing less space for body heat. The "Barrel Bag" design sacrifices the thermal efficiency for extra room while the "Rectangular Bag" design caters more to warm weather altogether. So, the thickness of the bag and the amount of space offered within the bag will be important to consider.
Other important qualities of a sleeping bag include the hood and neck yoke as 30% to 50% of body heat is lost through the head and neck. The neck yoke, an insulate collar, covers the neck area to reduce heat loss and potentially provides additional warmth. Some bags also offer extra insulation around the foot area to provide extra warmth to the feet and toes.
Option #1 - Make the bed fold-able and recline-able to be carried around in a bag-back. This would guarantee the safety of the bed, and enable it to be more mobile. The issue with this is the weight on the back. It is quite a task to carry something on your back for a whole day. To make someone carry a bed in a backpack all week, and all year is quite the challenge even when there's hardly a choice.
Below is a picture of a reclinable stretcher for the army. In this case though, the stretcher is very light, weighing in at about 11 pounds folding out to about 19.7 inches in height. "The EMSCompact Stretcher is the lightest most compact and flexible stretcher available in the EMS market today. When every second matters and rescue personnel have an increasingly heavy load to carry, you can count on the EMSCompact Stretcher to allow them to get on with the job of saving lives!"
Our bed will most probably be heavier than 11 pounds because it is not just a stretcher but a bed made of synthetic fiber/ thinsulate and will probably have some heavy metal parts in it.
Retrieved from a medical solutions blog at http://4mdmedical.wordpress.com/2010/01/25/emscompact-stretcher/.
Option #2: Make the bed disposable yet keeping it environmentally sustainable
This disposable cardboard bed was designed by designer Nikolay Suslov of the Saint Petersburg State Academy of Art And Design. This bed design is cheap as it utilizes cardboard, a few layers of corrugated cotton and finished with a waterproof substance. This disposable bed was actually design with homeless people in mind. The bed is durable through all seasons due to the waterproof finish and the bed is designed to be elivated 20 centimeters from ground level keeping the user a good distance from dirty, cold or wet ground. This low price disposable bed is completely recyclable, keeping in mind the environmental concerns of producing beds for the homeless.
This option is an excellent start in terms of cost, sustainability and its ease of becoming compact and portable, making it a very strong influence over our proposed design. However, when taking into consideration the Canadian winter we needed to manage how to incorporate the synthetic fiber/ thinsulate bedding and blanket.
Furthermore, there is also the issue of theft-proofing bed with the incorporation of some kind of lock.
Retrieved from the design blog at http://www.thedesignblog.org/entry/disposable-cardboard-bed-for-homeless-nomads/
Option #3: Collapsible stretcher concept
Similar to the first design option, this concept design is a collapsible stretcher that can folded, carried around, removed and opened up anywhere to become a stretcher. Much like the first option, the backpack concept ensures safety of the bed to the rightful owner, however, also like the first option this design is more of a stretcher than a bed hence it neglects various needs of the homeless such as warmth and a greater sense of shelter.
Retrieved from the Design Launches blog at http://www.designlaunches.com/lifestyle/collapsible_stretcher_concept.php
Option #4 - Make the bed easily transportable to be dragged around on wheels. Below are Some design inspirations:
"Design enthusiast Paul Elkins develops mobile units, and other small scale vehicles. His latest development is a mobile homeless shelter which he designed as part of a competition asking individuals to meet the demands of the rapidly growing homeless society - a kind of substitute for the grocery cart situation"
"Elkins wanted his design construction to be a simple, light weight, water tight insulated box on wheels, built with an area for displaying and selling handmade wares"
"The shelter weighs 225 pounds when empty. The roof acts as a rain catcher. The shelter also includes a sleeping / resting area, a kitchen and makeshift washroom"
Retrieved from the design boom blog at http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/9562/mobile-homeless-shelter.html
The above is just an example of an already proposed solution to help the homeless but this unit is quite different from what we are proposing. This is an 'independent housing unit' designed to be a mobile home with facilities for cooking, using the bathroom and even purifying water. We only want to design a bed for sleeping on that the homeless could possibly be involved in designing. It is a solution to create jobs for the unskilled but not the unstable.
We must also ask ourselves if such a unit would be realistic in terms of being an economically feasible project. While being greatly beneficial to any homeless person, a mass production, or so to speak, of such a unit may be beyond our budget. Furthermore, we aimed to create a design that can be assembled easily by the homeless as an effort to involve them in the construction process. This proposal may be beyond their interest.
Option #5: The Sleeping Bag Approach
The initial inspiration in terms of design, the sleeping bag, is also a valid option in terms of catering to the needs of the homeless. A good sleeping bag can provide the comfort and warmth needed to combat the harsher temperatures of Toronto's winters. Hence, what is needed is winter sleeping bag or at least a 3-season bag. Some essential factors behind staying warm include staying dry as wetness or moisture leads to the loss of body warmth, blocking wind as wind increases convective heat loss and multiple layers for trapping heat. These three components would suggest a sleeping bag that adequately keeps the user warm.
In designing a sleeping bag, there are various key components that contribute to warm sleeping bag. First of all the loft which refers the thickness of the bag is important in how warm the bag is. The thicker the bag, the warmer it will be. Secondly, the shape of the bag can often determine how warm and comfortable the bag is. For example, the "Mummy Bag" design aim for maximum heat retention by providing less space for body heat. The "Barrel Bag" design sacrifices the thermal efficiency for extra room while the "Rectangular Bag" design caters more to warm weather altogether. So, the thickness of the bag and the amount of space offered within the bag will be important to consider.
Other important qualities of a sleeping bag include the hood and neck yoke as 30% to 50% of body heat is lost through the head and neck. The neck yoke, an insulate collar, covers the neck area to reduce heat loss and potentially provides additional warmth. Some bags also offer extra insulation around the foot area to provide extra warmth to the feet and toes.
The various construction methods include:
Sewn-Through
Offset Quilt
Shingles
Baffles
http://www.mec.ca/Main/content_text.jsp?CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=10134198673221223&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302887295
http://www.mec.ca/Main/content_text.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302887164